Got a dissertation question? Ask Dr. Carol

If you’ve never written a dissertation before, the prospect can be daunting. Novice researchers don’t always understand the process at first. Take heart: We aren’t born knowing how to research and write a dissertation, but we can learn. Here are some questions I’ve received from confused dissertators who are trudging toward their goal of earning a Ph.D. or other advanced degree. (See my disclaimer at the end of this post.)

What do I do while I’m waiting for my proposal to be approved?

Dear Dr. Carol: I am working on my proposal for my Doctor of Business Administration research project. While I’m waiting for approval, should I start working on Chapter 4? –Ready to be done in Washington

Dear Ready: I know you are anxious to keep moving forward with your dissertation. However, it is not time yet to start on Chapter 4. For most social science dissertators, the first three chapters comprise the dissertation proposal. Chapter 4 is where we report our findings. Before we can write Chapter 4, we need to collect some data.

For most of us, before we collect data (that means, before we administer surveys, conduct interviews, or observe people), we must apply to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and any other entities that might be involved (school districts, companies, and the like) for permission to collect data.

After we receive permission to collect data, we implement the next phase of our study according to the plan we presented in Chapter 3.

So, the answer to your question is no, don’t start on Chapter 4. You can’t move forward until you get your proposal approved. For now, focus on that major milestone. While you are waiting for feedback and approval on your proposal, write a draft of your IRB application. Get current on new literature in your field. Take a nap. Enjoy your friends and family, because once you start collecting data, you might not see them for a while.

Help! My proposal lacks “alignment.”

Dear Dr. Carol: I just got feedback on my dissertation proposal. My chairperson said my paper “lacks alignment.” I don’t know what that means. Can you help? –Tearing out my hair in Denver

Dear Tearing: I hear your frustration. Alignment is a critical concept for researchers, but our mentors often don’t know how to define it, let alone explain it. They can tell if alignment is missing, but that’s not much help when we are trying to figure out what they want.

These are the main elements of most social science proposals:

Problem Statement
Purpose Statement
Theoretical Framework
Research Questions/hypotheses
Methodology/methods

Alignment means all these elements logically flow from one to the next. That is, from the problem we identified emerges the purpose statement. The theoretical framework supports the purpose. The research questions flow from the purpose as well. The methodology and methods are logical, given the purpose statement and the theoretical framework.

Here is an example of lack of alignment among the elements:

The problem is kids watch too much television.
Therefore, the purpose of the study is to observe kids’ consumption of junk food.
The theoretical framework will be based on adult learning theory.
The primary research question will be “How do kids’ ratings of Saturday morning cartoons correlate with their consumption of Twinkies?”
The methodology will be qualitative.
The main data collection method will be to observe kids’ napping behavior after eating sugar.

Does that plan make any sense at all to you? The lack of alignment is grossly exaggerated to make my point, but I’ve seen proposals whose elements are almost this misaligned. It is so easy to get off track.

Alignment is important! By far, the most common problem I see in proposals and dissertations is a lack of alignment between the problem, purpose, research questions, and methodology/methods. Alignment among these elements is such an important requirement that I devote an entire chapter to it in my book.

Go back through your main elements and make sure each one follows logically from the others. Use the same terms in all the elements: The problem is [xyz], therefore the purpose is to study [xyz]. Keep it simple. Read what other dissertators have done. Learn from their experience. Focus on nailing down the problem, and then let the other elements unroll logically from there. If something seems out of alignment, it usually means the problem statement is not clear.

Sometimes when all the elements align, I feel awe at the beauty of research. The elements make sense, logically flowing and interacting, supporting each other, justifying each other. The components come together to create the potential for new knowledge. Thus, we are knowledge generators—our research efforts lead to new insights, some big, some small, each valuable as a step toward new knowledge. Practitioners and scholars study, combine, synthesize, adapt, and extend our insights into new practices, new conclusions, new theories. How cool is that!

How do I choose my dissertation topic?

Dear Dr. Carol: I’m having trouble choosing a topic for my research project. Where do I start? –Confused in Florida

Dear Confused: I hear you. The world is full of fascinating topics to study. How do we choose just one?

First, do these four things:

Identify your program of study.
Make a list of problems that interest you.
Identify problems that need addressing (not every problem is worthy of doctoral-level research).
Review existing research to locate a gap in the literature.

This process should help you develop a list of possible topics, broad and narrow, that might work for a doctoral study.

Next, do the following:

Read Ellis and Levy’s (2008) article: Ellis, T. J., & Levy, Y. (2008). Framework of problem-based research: A guide for novice researchers on the development of a research-worthy problem. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 11, 17-33. Retrieved from http://www.inform.nu/Articles/Vol11/ISJv11p017-033Ellis486.pdf
Review your list of ideas in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science/Web of Knowledge (http://wokinfo.com/). You will usually have access to this tool through your university’s online library.
I know you are already doing this, but keep on reading articles in your field. Look at the end of each article for suggestions for future research. Make a list of interesting directions.
Talk to practitioners in your field. What problems do they face? How can you help? Make a list of pressing problems faced by people working in the real world.

In the intersections of these actions, I have no doubt you will identify many interesting topics suitable for a doctoral research study in the social sciences. The hard part now will be choosing just one.

Now think about the two possible research methodologies (qualitative or quantitative). You could do both (mixed methods), but choosing just one methodology is usually the best approach for a novice researcher. What do you prefer, analyzing text or analyzing numbers?

Finally, think about the methods available to you. Do you prefer listening to people, surveying people, observing people, or analyzing secondary data? You can find some tips and suggestions in a free e-guide available on the Love Your Dissertation Resources webpage.

Disclaimer

I hesitated before posting this essay. “Ask Dr. Carol” presumes I’m some kind of expert. At the risk of never editing another dissertation, I confess, I’m not. Even though I’ve edited many proposals and manuscripts, I’ve only written one dissertation.

In the social sciences, we study people’s behaviors, thoughts, attitudes… when we plan our study, we’d like to be certain that our research approach is the best one, but humans are complicated and messy, and so is studying them. Social science research continually evolves as researchers devise and apply new theories and research methods. In other words, research is a process.

We have all read the research gurus; however, if you’ve read successive editions of their books, you know their thinking evolves as they try to hone their explanations of research processes. Those of us who are learning to do research might be confused as the gurus’ thinking changes from year to year, but we need to remember that the research process is flexible, organic, and evolving. That means whether we choose quantitative or qualitative methodology, there is no one correct way to conduct a study.

Are you discouraged? Don’t be. This is good! This abundance of approaches might be confounding for new researchers, but on the bright side, we really can’t fail. As long as we get all the elements logically aligned and solidly justified, our research design will be valid.

I’ve seen many research designs and data collection and analysis methods. I’m sure I’ve seen only a fraction of what is possible. We researchers are a creative bunch. Most of us would like to blaze our own unique trail. For instance, I incorporated rich pictures into my project—I thought it was fun and unique. (You can read all 300+ pages of my massive tome on ProQuest Open Access if you want an example of a novice researcher learning as she goes.)

The point is, we are all on a continuum of research, learning as we go. I’m grateful for the gurus who keep refining their guidance—we who trudge the path behind them benefit from their repeated attempts to clarify and explain complex research methods. We should rejoice that the buffet of research approaches eventually produces a 360° perspective on the topics we study. That is our goal, right? To illuminate and clarify our topics.

As an author, I write to help me understand my topic. If I already understood the topic, what would be the point of writing about it, except to show off how much I know—an exercise in arrogance. If I am already sure of the answers, if I believe no new knowledge can be discovered, then why bother researching anything?

Some people think we already have all the answers, that research is a waste of resources. I don’t subscribe to that belief. Curiosity may have killed the proverbial cat, but it has also given us access to atoms and stars and everything in between. I believe the human historical arc bends toward curiosity. I support your curiosity, in all its myriad expressions.

Got a question?

Got a question about your dissertation proposal, research, or manuscript? Submit your question for Dr. Carol using the contact form.

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Find my latest books and resources

Applying Theory

Dissertators often struggle to choose and apply a theoretical framework to their research projects. In this helpful guide, I offer suggestions from my own experience. In addition, I reveal how other dissertators have applied theory successfully and earned their doctorates.

Written in a friendly, nonscholarly manner, I demystify the challenges of applying academic theory to a research project. You will learn that theory is nothing to fear—in fact, we all use theory all the time! With the help of this powerful little book, you will learn to master theory and achieve your dream of earning your Ph.D.

Print version $15.99
Kindle version $7.99

Resubmit! 28 ½ Reasons Why You Can’t Get Your Dissertation Proposal Approved

This comprehensive book is the missing link for dissertators who have struggled to get their proposals approved. This indispensable book bulges with insights, suggestions, examples, diagrams, and practical tips, written especially for the online dissertator who may receive little support during the proposal process.

I present solutions to address twenty-eight potential reasons why you might be struggling to get your proposal approved. For example, you will learn how to write a clear problem statement, devise research questions and hypotheses, and align the elements of the proposal to facilitate speedy approval. I unlock the mysteries of Word and Excel to show you specifically how to use these tools for your proposals. Over 200 tables and figures show you exactly what to do. As a bonus, you will learn how to design a web-based survey and make a plan for fielding and analyzing the data. In this book, I cover it all to help you overcome obstacles and finish your dissertation.

Free templates and worksheets are available here.

Print version $29.99
Kindle version $9.99

August 8, 2018

Why I write

For the past couple years, I’ve been dutifully blogging about topics I think might be important to you, my audience of dissertators. Today I write on a more personal note to reflect on my career as an author and researcher.

Ever since I was nine years old, I have expressed myself through images and words. My favorite birthday gift was a stack of notebook paper and a box of yellow no. 2 pencils. I confess, my lifelong urge to make marks on paper has at times been a compulsion. This urge to write has led me on a circuitous path; sometimes I have taken long detours away from writing. Even so, after all these years, I still feel compelled to create with words. Why? Why do I write?

I want to learn

Some of my urge to write emerges from a desire to learn. Somewhere I read that if we want to learn something, a good way to learn it is to teach it. After a ten-year career as an instructor at a for-profit career college, I agree with that statement. I taught courses in marketing, management, public speaking, general office procedures, computer applications such as Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint… the list of courses I taught goes on… and on and on, because that is what we did as instructors—we taught what we were assigned to teach. Teachers in the general education department were more or less interchangeable. A dime a dozen, we were told.

The only thing I wasn’t qualified to teach was English, because my degree was in Business Administration. However, from term to term, I never knew if I would be assigned to teach something I’d never heard of—for instance, once I taught one student a medical office software program (I’ve never worked in a medical office). Many times I taught “college and career success” to incoming students and “professional development” to outgoing students.

I required students in all my courses to write—a lot. I gained a reputation for assigning research papers, even in the general office procedures course. I know, a bit excessive. I certainly got a lot of practice editing student papers, at the time not imagining I would one day become a professional academic editor.

In the process of preparing for courses I’d never heard of, I learned a multitude of things. Beyond learning the content of the course, I learned how to learn efficiently, to grab at the main concepts, and to describe them in ways I thought my audiences would understand.

I never intended to be a teacher, but when that was my role, I embraced it with gusto and learned all I could. In fact, that teaching job inspired me to enroll in graduate school (and allowed me to pay for it, one course at a time). It took eight years to complete my doctorate. The career college campus went belly up a few months before I finished my degree. I blogged about my adventures in dissertation hell.

I want to help

Some of my urge to write arises from a desire to contribute to the greater good. Even though I’m an introvert, I like people (in small doses and controlled settings). I want people to succeed, whatever that looks like for them. Lately I’ve focused on helping people overcome obstacles to earning their doctoral degrees. That is just one iteration of my effort to be useful.

At the career college, I was an unflagging cheerleader for student success. Often I had classes of one student. I showed up, every day, ready to give 110% to one student, so she (most of the students we taught were single mothers) could graduate and find that medical assisting job that would support her children.

Some years before the career college, I operated a clothing design business, making gowns for brides, dresses for bridesmaids, outfits for excited hopeful women going to a prom, going on a cruise, going to Monaco, going to the Oscars. I made their dreams come true. At least, their silk velvet, crepe de chine, and turquoise chamois leather dreams. I had the skill of clothing design and garment construction. I never intended to become a seamstress, but when that was my job, I did my best. You can read about some of my adventures as a seamstress here. (You heard it here first.)

I want to understand

Some of my urge to write stems from a compulsion to understand people. People are fascinating. I’m not much of a networker, but when I’m trying to make small talk, I can always fall back on my desire to understand why people do what they do, why they believe what they believe. Maybe you would call me nosy; I would say I’m interested.

I recently attended a reunion of people who graduated from my elementary school. The reunion was held in honor of a revered teacher; however, I was mainly interested in seeing people I went to school with almost fifty years ago (yes, I am that old). There was just a handful of us there. The beloved teacher didn’t remember any of us, but we remembered each other. I finally realized why I get so much joy from seeing people I went to school with many years ago. I want to understand them.

I am not interested in comparing myself to them. I don’t care how we look. I want to know what their lives are like, what they enjoy, how they think about things, how the years have been for them. I want to understand them. I am, after all, a qualitative researcher.

I want to be understood

Finally, I confess, some of my urge to write comes from a desire to be understood. I hesitated to write about this aspect of my urge to write. However, I would be dishonest if I claimed I didn’t care about being understood. All of my writing projects have in some form or another emerged from a desire to be heard, to be seen, to be recognized, to be acknowledged. I’m human. I want to tell my stories, and I hope a few others would be willing to listen, the way I hope to hear their stories.

If I had to choose only one (and if I could consciously choose), I would choose to understand rather than to be understood. Being understood may be essential for kids… maybe not so much for adults. I’ve come to believe it is more important to seek to build bridges to others than to demand they build bridges to me.

I will keep writing because that is who I am, that’s what writers do.

Why do you write?

Why do you write? To earn your degree? To get a better job? To tell your story? What have you learned by writing? Comment on the Love Your Dissertation Facebook page.

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In the past few years, I’ve written and published two books for my dissertator audience. Applying Theory is the first book in a series of small handbooks written especially for dissertators attending courses at online for-profit universities. These nontraditional dissertators are unique: They often don’t receive adequate attention and support from mentors and peers. My intention with this series is to fill in the gaps so these isolated online learners can overcome obstacles and earn their degrees.

Applying Theory

Print version USD$15.99
Kindle version USD$7.99

Resubmit! 28 ½ Reasons Why You Can’t Get Your Dissertation Proposal Approved

Free templates and worksheets are available here.

Print version USD$29.99
Kindle version USD$9.99

June 20, 2018

You use theory, I use theory, we all use theory

(Excerpt from my new book Applying Theory, Chapter 1)

How I used theory today—Scenario 1

Today was a day much like any other. I woke with my cat sitting on my chest. My first thought was, why does he always do that? To answer my question, I tried to come up with some possible explanations.

He’s out of food.
He’s bored.
He barfed and felt an urgent need to notify me so I can fulfill my duty to clean it up.

I began to test each explanation. Moving gingerly toward the kitchen, I checked all nearby rugs but found no barf or hairballs. Okay, so that couldn’t explain his behavior. Next, I checked his bowl: He had plenty of kibbles, so that wasn’t the reason for his behavior. Of my three possible explanations, the one that made sense was he was bored.

However, it is possible my cat knows that if I don’t get up by a certain hour I feel like such a slacker I am likely to bury my head under the covers for a couple more hours to avoid facing the day. My cat could be smart like that. If you have a cat, you know what I mean. Maybe he’s trying to tell me something. I made a mental note to consult a cat whisperer.

Can you guess what was I doing in that scenario? I was generating and testing theory! I asked questions, and my brain offered some possible explanations, which I could then test to discern the best answer for the question.

How I used theory today—Scenario 2

Here’s another scenario. As I waited for the teakettle to boil, I noticed it seemed chilly in the kitchen, especially around my feet. Why was it so cold? My mind immediately conjured several possible explanations.

Cold air settles near the floor.
The east wind blowing against the side of the house could have sucked all the warmth out of the room.
The thermostat could be broken again.

Which explanation was correct? First, the air under the ceiling was likely warmer, compared to the air around my feet. The evidence I have for that explanation is my cat’s preference for sleeping on the top of his six-foot tall cat tree on cold days.

If this explanation was correct, what could I do about cold air settling by my feet? I couldn’t easily build a similar structure for myself (I’m way too old to climb trees, indoors or out), but maybe I could run a fan to circulate the air in the kitchen . . . so that the air was uniformly cold on my entire body, not just on my feet. Right, great solution.

What about that east wind? What could I do if that was the explanation? I couldn’t stop the wind from blowing, but I could put plastic over the windows to help block the cold drafts that seeped around and through the glass. Okay, done.

Finally, I could check the thermostat to make sure it was working properly. If it was, I could crank it up, never mind the heating bills. If the thermostat wasn’t working, I could call the property managers. Alternatively, I could put on more layers (too many as it is) or I could do jumping jacks to warm up (unlikely).

Again, I was generating and testing theory. I asked questions, and my brain offered some possible explanations, which I could then test to discern the best answer for the question.

How about that! Two theories generated before I even had my tea! Thus the day goes.

What about academic theory?

Not all researchers would consider these explanations academic theories. I admit, I am using the term theory in an everyday sense. As you will see, theory comes in many sizes, from micro to macro, from practical to abstract. Trying to conjure reasons why my cat behaves the way he does is an example of a microtheory, interesting only to me. I could expand the question to encompass all cat behavior; that would be moving toward a macro theory. If I were ambitious (which I’m not), I could use my cat’s behavior to try to generate an all-encompassing macrotheory of everything. Right, wish me luck with that.

Think about the links between observation, question, explanation, research, and practice. All five elements connect to create the knowledge base we need to solve problems. However, notice that embedded in our theoretical musings are our cultural circumstances—in my case, single, middle-aged White American female with one cat. Whatever theories we may derive in our academic research will inevitably reflect our cultural identities, as well as those of our readers (DiMaggio, 1995).

Cultural background notwithstanding, I hope you can see that we all use theory, big and small, all the time. I wrote Applying Theory to help you be conscious about it, so you can apply theory like a scholar, finish your dissertation, and earn your degree.

How did you use theory today?

References

DiMaggio, P. J. (1995). Comments on “What theory is not.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 40(3), 391–397. doi:10.2307/2393790

Applying Theory

Print version

Resubmit! 28 ½ Reasons Why You Can’t Get Your Dissertation Proposal Approved

Free templates and worksheets are available here.

Print version
Kindle version